Latvia : Soviet period 1944-1990

In 1944 Latvia is re-occupied by the Russian Army. On 13 October 1944 Riga is captured by the Red Army. In the ‘Courland pocket’ (the area around Liepāja, on the Courland peninsula) the German Army Group North was isolated: the Red Army’s blockade remained until the end of the war (8 May, 1945).

For present Latvia it was a ‘re-occupation’, but in a Soviet travel guide we read about Riga on 12 October, 1944: “Within 24 hours the town had been completely liberated. … About 20,000 Letts-soldiers, officers and partisans- were decorated for the bravery and heroism they showed in fighting the nazi invaders, and 28 of these were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.”
From: Riga : a guide / Maria Debrer. – Moscow : Progress Publishers, 1982.

For the collector of the Baltic Area there is a lot of items from the Soviet period: postage stamps with a Latvian theme, postal stationery with a Latvian theme, biligual postmarks.